Matthew “Griff” Griffin is a 2001 United States Military Academy graduate commissioned into the Field Artillery. Between 2003-2005, Griff deployed four times to Iraq and Afghanistan with 2d Ranger Battalion as a Company Fire Support Officer. He planned and participated in over 100 special operations direct action missions. After departing the military in 2006 as a captain, Griff worked in the defense sector that eventually led him back to Afghanistan to assist with medical infrastructure development. After witnessing the positive effects of economic growth in conflict areas, Griff co-founded Combat Flip Flops with a fellow Ranger and began the mission to manufacture peace through trade. Griff serves as the Operations Officer for Team 5 as a means of continued global service.

Combat Flip Flops is a veteran-owned small business creating economic, educational and life-saving opportunities for those living in conflict areas. Working with self-determined entrepreneurs affected by conflict, Combat Flip Flops’ willingness to take bold risks, build community connections, and create distinct designs communicate, ‘Business, Not Bullets’—flipping the view on how wars are won. Through the brands’ Unarmed Forces (consumers and supporters) 134 Afghan girls are going to school in 2016 and over 5,000 square meters of land mines have been cleared in Laos, allowing children to safely walk to school and farmers to harvest their land. To keep up with Combat Flip Flops, please visit www.combatflipflops.com. For sales inquiries, please contact Matthew Griffin, griff@combatflipflops.com. For media inquiries, please contact Kate Ketschek, kate@revolutionhousemedia.com.